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How to Throw a Puppy Party

If no one offers to throw the party, fear not. Throw your own. And don't forget about your friends with pound pets: A shower for a rescued dog is a caring way to thank a pet owner who has saved a life. Allow plenty of play dates before the party for the pooches to get to know each other and socialize. Have a quiet corner for the less energetic or older dogs, to relax and keep out of the puppy mayhem for a while!

Sold on the idea? Now it's time to get started. For those in need of comprehensive party planning help, pick up How to Host a Puppy Shower by Dona and Juliann Penfold. Her book is jammed with tips and tricks to execute a flawless affair.
The Paw-Fect Place: First determine your party's location: Does your puppy prefer a low-key, intimate setting, or a sprawling space with plenty of room to play? If the weather forecast is good, consider hosting your bash outdoors in your backyard, or at a public place such as a dog park. If you'd rather host indoors, and want to find a unique space away from home, scope out your options at local puppy “spaws,” grooming salons, pup-friendly pools, or puppy day-care centre’s.
Whether self-hosting or throwing the party for a friend, the first step is to settle on a date. Give yourself at least six weeks to get organized and order all your supplies. When picking the date for the shower, Penfold feels the event can take place in the weeks leading up to the birth of the puppy or after the "baby" has gone home with its adoptive family. One bit of advice: Make sure the new pet has ample time to adjust to his surroundings prior to the big event. To keep costs down ‘Set a budget early in the process and stick to it.
After you've selected the date, it's time to draw up the guest list. "Doggie bags" can be sent home with all the guests. Doggie bags are easy to make when you take brown lunch bags, fringe the top edges, and paste on ears, eyes, and muzzles cut from coloured construction paper. Complete the bags by drawing on mouths with a black marker, and then you're ready to fill them with party favours. Try your local bakery to see if they will do a special order of yummy doggie treats for the party. In your chosen theme and party colours of course. Or go to your local Pet Store. Better still make your own home made puppy treats.

With guest list in hand it's time to settle on invitations and pick a theme. Clever hosts will coordinate theme and invite. There are sensational invitation resources available on the Internet. Chocolate Peanut offers a host of cool graphics that can be downloaded for free and printed as puppy announcements and party invitations. Or why not make your own; it adds a nice personal touch.
With four weeks to go until the party, it's time to get the invites addressed and out in the mail. Have fun with the invite design, but be sure you provide all the basics: the purpose of the celebration (it's fun to note the dog's birthday or adoption day and vital statistics); time, date, and location of the party; directions; and the kindly respond by. Also order party supplies and set a menu. For decorations, consider traditional baby colours--pink or blue. Penfold suggests a few other festive themes: farm animals, sports teams, or dog breeds. Add some appropriate balloons either printed or in the chosen party colours.
When it comes to paper supplies, Scrap-booking stores are a great resource for adorable doggie props. Consider picking up a blank album like an 8'x8" album to fill with photos from the shower. Give each guest a page to fill in with advice and best wishes for the new puppy.

Menu planning can be simple or elaborate depending on your talents in the kitchen and your budget. In general, try to include a few items with a fun doggie-centric feel. Cookies and cakes can be shaped like bones, fire hydrants or dog toys. Be sure to have enough treats, cookies, water bowls and poop bags available for the pooches who attend. If you are feeling very adventurous make a puppy party cake.
Serve all the human snacks in dog bowls. Prepare individual place settings and doggy bowls for your dog's pals. Having an individual place setting for each canine will help each one get his or her own share of the goodies at the party and may also serve to help avoid chaotic scenarios when feeding time comes around.
Offering some entertainment is a great idea for the shower. Since the first months of a pup's life are the most formative, consider bringing in experts to fill new owners in on important issues. Invite a local trainer to discuss leash and obedience training, a veterinarian to discuss special needs for growing puppies, or a local parks department staffer to present local park options and rules. Your guests might also enjoy a tunnel or two for exploring and toys to keep them entertained. While they get to know one another, add a calm and festive atmosphere with music arranged for both pups and guests alike.
Why not hire a doggie yoga instructor to lead the group in a few quick stretches? Another idea is to have a relaxing massage session for doggie guests.
Games are another way to break the ice and get human guests mingling. Puppy Bingo is a great game. Everyone gets a bingo card. The hostess draws a card from a stack of picture cards (each card will have a picture of something to do with dogs). As the hostess announces the picture word, guests will fill out their cards with dog-food shaped game pieces. The first person to bingo wins a prize. (Just don’t forget those puppy bathroom breaks, or the excitement might be too much...)
Try to organize a few games that involve both the pets and the owners. These activities may include fetch games, funny games or simple dog and owner games, like races where both owners and pets run to and from a set point in the venue. You can even try to come up with a fashion show contest where the owners dress up their dogs in their nicest togs and have the guests who do not have pets at the party judge who is the best costumed pooch in the venue. Other activities may involve a simple trick contest. The pup that does the most doggy tricks may win a prize or the pup that performs the most unique trick wins a prize. Of course, you may have to prepare a prize that is suited to the winners and you may even include prizes for the owners too, if you want.

Now that you're ready for the guests to arrive, it's time to think about gifts. A puppy shower is a great way to get a new pet owner properly outfitted. Why not try some of these practical gifts below.
Leashes’, Collar’s, Crates, Water/Food Bowls, Beds, indoors and outdoors, Doggie Fashion, Toys, Bones, Grooming Implements, Books, The list goes on.

Smart puppy owners-to-be can set up a wish list for their pet so everyone knows what is most needed - and then send the link to each party guest via email. This way you ensure you don't get duplicates, and make sure that larger gifts like beds or bowls will match your home. For the pet who's already well set up (thanks to brothers and sisters or a doting puppy grandma), don't forget about gift certificate for services such as:
Veterinary visits, Training, Pet sitting or Dog Walking, Doggy yoga or Massage Sessions

Now sit back and relax, you're on your way to throwing the best puppy shower ever!

Author's Resource:

tanja7 writes articles for www.pawsnclaws.com.au and various other publications. She loves all animals and caring for animals.

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